a personal question for some of you...

[ChrisBrightwell]

how about the typical mall chain ring stores... zales, rogers and hollands etc. are they good price-wise?

Personally, I would avoid the mall like I would avoid the plague. They're typically over-priced and only carry sub-par gems.

My wife and I went shopping together for her ring. She couldn't decide what she really wanted, so I saved some money, set a budget, and put her in the car. We drove to one of her favorite jewelry stores, I passed the saleman a note with my budget on it, and she shopped to her heart's content.

She found the band that took her breath away and I bought the best diamond I could afford with the remainder of the budget. All told, it's a ring that I still catch her looking at and smiling about on an almost daily basis ... almost three years later.

I spent a bit more than I had planned ($2200), but it was worth every penny, IMO.

 

[ecche]

I spent about US$1200 on a 22 carat gold ring, no stone, in Zimbabwe, 1994. Today I'd take my fiancee to Hongkong for a nice holiday and have the ring made there , for a fraction of the cost....

 

[iBlue]

Go in honest and open about it.

It sounds like you've already sort of talked about this so it's not a totally spontaneous (or stereotypical surprise) proposal where you need to get down on one knee with a ring in hand.

I'd propose and tell her you'd like to go ring shopping with her... then when appropriate let her in on the financial aspect of what you can or can't afford. If she's a keeper, she'll understand and not make this an uncomfortable situation for you. You (she) can both pick the ring. It's often times the best way to go.

Good luck!

 

[janey]

And relatively recently, another contact through a relative works in the jewel district of downtown LA and he has great deals because he literally flies to Belgium and elsewhere to pick out each stone, and he has unique designs.

Ohh my god, the jewelry district here in LA is amazing. So much jewelry, so cheap. If you have contacts, even better. Thousands of businesses all in a few blocks that do everything there is to do about jewelry. Designers, suppliers, dealers, just name anything and it's there...

I've always thought that you can get quite beautiful rings for around $2500-3000.

That's what I would expect a boyfriend to buy me.
It's a big enough investment to be very special, but not ridiculously expensive.

As much as I've eyed platinum rings with huge rocks worth tens of thousands of dollars (a girl can dream, right? ), I honestly think $2500-3000 is a bit much for a ring (screw 2 months' salary too, that's money that could go towards something else..). I'd much prefer a useful new computer to a ridiculously useless ring that I would honestly not even think about wearing cause I couldn't bear thinking about losing something so expensive.

On the flip side, a simple ring that's $4-500 at most I'd love...platinum or titanium would be sweet (no stones, i don't really like stones that much).

 

[jelloshotsrule]

I've always thought that you can get quite beautiful rings for around $2500-3000.

i've always thought you could get one for a few hundred. or less. and it's all the more valuable if you put some heart into it and it's something that's more than just a ring because you had to get one...

That's what I would expect a boyfriend to buy me.

would you buy one for him?

 

[sinstoic]

If you have money better buy her a fully loaded Apple Macbook Pro + Apple iPod of her choice + Apple TV + Apple iPhone + all related most wanted accessories!

Rings are just symbols whereas Apple Macbook Pros are status (read how much he cares for me) symbols!

Once she tells her friends what you did, all her friends will regret not dating and trying to marry you in the first place!

 

[fairnymph]

My husband got me the ring ($350) and I bought him an ipod ($400). I felt he should have something too!

 

[jelloshotsrule]

My husband got me the ring ($350) and I bought him an ipod ($400). I felt he should have something too!

nice!

but you really should've spent more like 2 months salary and gotten him a macbook pro.

 

[macmama]

hmm for some reason I had the mindset that these places would be MORE expensive than the chains, now that a few people have mentioned them i will have to check them out. Any websites that show you where to look for these places?

Hi Howard, sorry for the late reply. As Janey said above, big cities often have jewelry/diamond districts. In NYC, it's midtown in the 40s. Just shop after shop of diamond dealers. The one where a friend of the family works is actually in a large building, where each of the craftsmen has their own small office. They transport the diamonds on their bodies in these little bags beneath their clothes; it's quite wild!

 

[floriflee]

We didn't get engaged, we just got married.

It's lasted 30 years, though.

As for the wedding ring, she made that herself out of a nugget I bought in Ballarat. We're cheap that way.

That's the way to do it.

I wouldn't let the hubby spend a whole lot on the ring set. I didn't really have too much say in the matter--I was allowed to give him ideas of what I liked--but I did what I could. My wedding band is just a simple platinum band. The engagement ring was custom made so we didn't get an official set of rings. I think it ended up being cheaper that way. The hubby has said he'd like to upgrade it someday, but frankly, I think what I got was absolutely beautiful. It came from the heart and he put a lot of thought into it so I couldn't ask for more.

 

[echeck]

The first day I went looking for an engagement ring I found the perfect one. It was very low profile with five small diamonds set in a platinum band, exactly what she wanted. It was $420 and I put $150 down, then came back two weeks later and put down the rest.

My wife loved it so much that she kept it as her wedding ring as well.

You don't have to spend a lot of money for it to mean something, and it's just ridiculous to go in to massive amounts of debt for a ring. That's a horrible way to start your marriage.

 

[bartelby]

...platinum or titanium would be sweet

Titanium is the way to go. Have you seen how much is involved in making titanium?

 

[miloblithe]

Titanium is the way to go. Have you seen how much is involved in making titanium?

Too light for me. I like the weight of platinum. Also, it can't be resized can it?

 

[janey]

Titanium is the way to go. Have you seen how much is involved in making titanium?

Well, until the time comes...

Although I would gladly pass on a ring if it was not affordable for my future spouse. Or go for one of those cheap $30 rings...I have a whole bunch of very pretty silver/whatever rings floating around that were very, very cheap..no need to spend a lot of money on something pretty (cause affordable and beautiful rings exist too), i'd rather use it to get a new computer

 

[EricNau]

Also, it can't be resized can it?

No, they cannot be resized, but contrary to popular belief, they can be cut off.

 

[jbernie]

When money is a concern, buy the ring you want know (if possible) and then get a basic stone, later on you can get a new more appropriate stone set.

Then again Homer proposed to Marge and only had a hot onion ring

When it comes to jewellers... i would say avoid the mall. Though if you are in Denver, Vegas or Phoenix I would recommend Hyde Park. Back in 97 I was on a tour of the SW USA, was in Vegas, wanted to get something nice for the then GF, now ex, the lady at Hyde Park basically turned the store upside down for me trying to find something that fit my budget and also suited my needs, in the end we didn't have any luck, but I did by the white gold chain from the which i later matched up to a pendant from a different store.

A few months ago I wanted to get something for the new gf, I went to Hyde Park here in Denver. It was the only place I wanted to go to get something special all because of a very good experience 9 years previous.

 

[iGav]

Titanium is the way to go.

That's my choice too. As I understand it, it's one of the few metals that you can't be allergic too. Or something like that.

Gold's just horrible. And Silver's for those that can't afford gold. Weheheh.

 

[aprilgrey34]

My husband bought my engagement ring a few years ago, when I was a grad student and he was supporting the both of us on a very low salary and a 2-hour daily commute and we ate most of our food out of dented cans. He took out a loan for what was probably more around 4 months' salary at that time to pay for it, which he absolutely refused, even after we were married and both had much better-paying jobs, to let me help pay for.

I had tried to drop "hints" of the style of ring/diamond I preferred (round, pretty! heart-shaped, boo. silver-colored band, pretty! two-toned, boo.), and he was clearly more astute than I gave him credit for... because my ring was and is absolutely perfect. Though he could have given me a two-toned ring with a heart-shaped diamond, and I still would have loved it just because it came him.

Well... maybe I can say that so easily now only because I have the perfect engagement ring (and wedding ring to boot!).

Don't worry, Howard... the ring you give her will be perfect.

 

[Edandlindz28]

Do whats best for the both of you

When I got married my wife went looking and picked her ring out (I am not creative nor very good in this area).

I knew what she wanted and how much it was and started saving then purchased it (little less than 4k). They only reason I was able to do that was because I came out of college into the military making pretty good money.

I would take her ring shopping. Look at the mall stores to get and idea of what she likes then you can go out and look for a better price elsewhere. If she doesn't want one after looking then be okay with that.

One thing that will stress a new marriage more is financial burdens. So I would not go out of what you can afford.

But, I would say spend what you can and if you put your heart into it, she will love it.

p.s. the two month rule is BS, I spent 1 month and it took me 5 months to save (lots of PB&J).